How ™Works
 The
Tile Master™
DK1820S - Swing Away Press
The
Tile Master™ is an 18x20 swing away heat press with a massive heater block,
3/8" thicker than a standard heater block and 40 sq. in. larger than a 16x20 heat
press.
This produces an extra large reservoir of heat that increases
heating efficiency during the production/sublimation cycle.
The additional
heat reservoir and The Tile Master's™ "2-Tray" production system greatly
increases the number of sublimated tiles and other products (compared to a standard
16"x 20" heat press) that can be produced in one day. Here's how it works…
 The
Beginning…
6
- 6x6 tiles are loaded edge to edge on top of a 12x18 printed transfer, produced
by an Epson 1280 (the paper size is 13x19). The tiles and transfer rest on four,
1/8" pieces of yellow felt. When the press is closed, the felt pushes the transfer
up and provide good contact against the slightly curved edges of the tiles.
The tiles are heated from the back because this produces the best clarity
and uniformity. Right before the press is closed a 16x20 sheet of Teflon is put
over the tiles to keep any possible grit on the back of the tiles off the heater
block. While the tiles are sublimating, a second tray is prepared…
The
Middle…As
the heating cycle begins on the setup described above, a second production tray
is prepared with a new tile and sublimation transfer setup.
 The
production tray is sheet metal, with turned down flanges on the left, right and
front edges. The side flanges act as a guide, while sliding the tray onto the
heat press and the front flange stops the tray from sliding too far forward.
The 18x20 Heat Resistant Rubber (HRR) pad, shown in the picture (under the
felt), is permanently attached to both trays. There is no HRR attached to the
lower table of the heat press (like on a standard press). The entire tray setup
is slid directly onto the solid steel lower support table…The
fully loaded second tray is ready and waiting, while the first tray is in the
press "cooking".
When
the sublimation cycle is complete, the operator opens the press, removes the entire
first tray (with oven mitts), slides the second tray onto the lower table, covers
the tiles with Teflon and closes the press. As
the second tray is starting its' heating cycle, the first tray is unloaded and
then reloaded with a new transfer and blank tiles. The
End…The
two pictures below illustrate the unloading of a sublimated tile tray. Each tile
is carefully picked up (using a good oven mitt) and placed face up on a table
or countertop, to cool. Care must be taken when unloading, to not let a corner
of a hot tile hit another tile. Tiles are very brittle, when extremely hot, and
easily chip. The
superior heating efficiency of The Tile Master™, our "2-Tray" loading system
and refined production methods provides two simple benefits- More tiles per hour
produced and more profits! In
"real-time" time and motion tests, we were able to produce 36-48, 6x6
fully sublimated tiles per hour, using two different production methods and layout
approaches. This extends into 288-384 tiles per 8-hour day. As
a reference point, 384 6x6 tiles is enough for 64, 12x18 framed murals (the most
popular size) or 1, 6'x16' wall mural.
The
Results
The
above picture is our completed 12x18 tile mural with the original transfer beside
it. The faint image on the True Pix sublimation paper is not much more than a
stain left on the paper. |  Note-
the tiles in the pictures have cooled off. When unloading, tiles should always
be placed about 2" apart. |
More
Results...The
above murals are 6 - 6"x 6" inkjet sublimated tiles. The images were produced
with Corel 8, an Epson 1280 printer using ArTainium UV+ sublimation inks and printed
on '95 True Pix high definition sublimation paper. Approximate cost of each printed
image was $1.50. Tiles and frames were furnished courtesy of Tropical Graphics,
Oak Park, Florida. See their web site for frame and tile costs at Ceramic
Sources.
The Tile Master™ heat press is powerful and efficient.
Here
is what the experts say.
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